Bag balm for cracked feet?

[JamaisVu]

Hello!

So my chinchilla health chronicles continue...

Last night I was about to clean the cage. I had allowed Susu to take her bath right before that so I could take the dust bath away when I started cleaning. Well....I came back to blood splatter in the bath sand and my heart dropped. I tried not to panic and cleaned the rest of the cage and play area while looking for any other signs of bleeding. Since there were none, I calmly picked Susu up and checked her. As expected, there was a bit of dry blood on her left foot. I'm guessing it probably cracked during her bath and her rolling around was what made the the bleeding so dramatic.

I took several pictures and called up the vet this morning. Since there is no more active bleeding and her eating/pooping/water intake/activity levels are all normal, she wants me to monitor the foot. If I see any changes to the foot or more bleeding, we'll make an appointment.

Of course, my concern is bumblefoot. She doesn't have anything near the horror pictures I've seen online, but blood is always scary. She was eating breakfast and going up and down her cage this morning and I saw no signs of blood anywhere, so it does seem like the foot didn't reopen overnight (which is great, I was very concerned all through the night).

I have bag balm at home that I could apply, but my vet is concerned about Susu licking her feet and eating some of it. I know that is widely recommended in chinchilla communities, so any tips? Would you apply it if the foot had bled, or give it a few days?

 

[Amethyst]

Bag balm is safe, but a little does go a long way, you just want a thin layer not a glob. Also if at all possible try to rub it in and hold her for as long as you can (at least a few minutes) to allow it to absorb in. At the very least don't put the chin back in the cage for a few minutes and have them sit on a clean surface so nothing gets stuck to the feet. If you have a second person that makes it a lot easier, one person holding the chin and the other applying the bag balm.

Also no dust baths until the foot is healed, and try to keep the cage extra clean. Bumble foot is an infection in the foot, so you want to make sure the cage is as kept clean to reduce the risk of infection.

 

[JamaisVu]

Bag balm is safe, but a little does go a long way, you just want a thin layer not a glob. Also if at all possible try to rub it in and hold her for as long as you can (at least a few minutes) to allow it to absorb in. At the very least don't put the chin back in the cage for a few minutes and have them sit on a clean surface so nothing gets stuck to the feet. If you have a second person that makes it a lot easier, one person holding the chin and the other applying the bag balm.

Also no dust baths until the foot is healed, and try to keep the cage extra clean. Bumble foot is an infection in the foot, so you want to make sure the cage is as kept clean to reduce the risk of infection.

Thanks a lot! I've been applying it for the past 3 days and the foot already looks a ton better. Unless you're looking closely, you wouldn't know which was the one that bled this past Thursday. Thankfully there's been no more bleeding and she's been just as active as she usually is. She's not super psyched about all the handling, but overall isn't taking it too badly.